Travis Kelce’s Teammate Explains Why He Won’t Approach Taylor Swift

Kansas City Chiefs rookie receiver Rashee Rice revealed in an interview on Wednesday that despite being close friends with Travis Kelce, he won’t be introducing himself to Taylor Swift anytime soon. The entire Chiefs line-up is experiencing increased media attention this season due to Kelce’s romance with the pop star.

Rice was speaking with former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh on the latter’s show, Airing It Out. Near the end of the interview, Adeh asked Rice if he’d had a chance to meet Swift, but the player demurred.

“I’ve seen her, but I didn’t go up to her, like, ‘Can I get a picture?’ Nothing like that,” Rice explained. “Those guys like Trav and [Patrick Mahomes], those guys invite us out because they know that we’re the only guys that see them every day and see them for who they are,” the player explained.

“I wouldn’t go up to another dude’s girl and go, ‘Can I get a picture with your girl?’ Nah, nah. I don’t got nothin’ to do with that,” Rice said. He added, though, that his comments weren’t to be construed as dismissive. “I’m happy for Trav, and she’s real good support for the team,” the receiver noted. “She brought a lot of new fans to the team.”

Rice was a decorated college athlete before he signed with the Chiefs. In 2022’s college season, he notched 96 receptions for 1,355 receiving yards and 10 receiving touchdowns. In last week’s game against the Patriots, Rice accounted for almost one-third of the Chiefs’ yardage.

Kelce himself weighed in on Rice’s promise on the most recent episode of his New Heights podcast (via Sports Illustrated.) “I’m proud as hell of him. He’s slowly been taking more and more responsibility as this year’s gone on,” Kelce said. “In big key moments, too. I’m talking about third downs when we need it most. I think his game is going to keep growing. I’m excited as hell for him.”

The Chiefs will next face the Las Vegas Raiders at Arrowhead on Christmas Day.